It begins, Hizashi thinks, when he calls on Midoriya in class for an answer and the kid gets it wrong.
That he gets it wrong isn't what bothers Hizashi; he just gently corrects him and explains how to properly conjugate the verb. It's a tricky one, irregular like too many English verbs are, and it's one that lots of people mess up - he has no doubt that the rest of the class is benefitting from this re-explanation as well. He also knows he'll be explaining it again this time next week to other students in the class. Besides, had it been a regular verb, the kid would've been spot on.
No, the problem is how hard Midoriya is on himself for a simple mistake. He shrinks down in his seat, cheeks red and... he goes silent. Even though he's only known the kid for a few weeks, it's unsettling, and wrong.
It's concerning, Hizashi thinks, and to that end he quietly slips a note to the kid asking him to stay behind after class. He makes sure to let Midoriya know he's not in trouble, because boy does that kid have anxiety, but he also doesn't want to just call the kid out in front of his classmates. Teasing and kind as they may be, even well-intentioned jokes can hurt if Hizashi's suspicions are correct.
The bell rings, and the kids trickle out to lunch with eager smiles and relief to be free of learning evident in their lax shoulders. Except for Midoriya, who shyly tells his friends he has a question to ask of Yamada- sensei.
Hizashi can't help but preen whenever the kid calls him Yamada-sensei, and not Mic-sensei like so many other students do; he isn't just a hero after all, and his teaching is something he's uniquely proud of. It says a lot about Midoriya that he's figured that out so quickly and adjusted accordingly.
Not all that it says is good, however, because yes, while it does indicate a sweet, observant kid, it also hints at less-happy reasons as to why Midoriya feels the need to adjust his behaviour so quickly.
"Thanks for staying back, Midoriya-kun," Hizashi says, careful to keep his voice light as he walks over to lean back on Sero's desk. "I just wanted to check in with you, see how you're doing?"
Whatever Midoriya was expecting to hear, with tense shoulders and wary eyes, it wasn't that. He looks startled, but remains silent, face pinched with suspicion.
That's. Concerning.
Hizashi gentles his smile. "I've just noticed over the last few weeks that you've seemed a bit stressed. Is everything alright?"
The tension, at least, drains out of Midoriya's shoulders, even as the teen stares up at Hizashi with blatant confusion. "I..."
"You don't have to talk to me about it if you don't want to," Hizashi says when Midoriya's sentence trails off. "I'm sure your friends, or another teacher would be happy to listen if you need to talk about anything."
He keeps his voice soft, his expression gentle. He really doesn't want to spook Midoriya right now. All he can do is reach out, and hope that if the kid doesn't reach back to him, he'll at least think about trying with someone else.
"I...I'm alright, Yamada-sensei," Midoriya says eventually, but there's a strange awe in his voice as he looks up at Hizashi. It's different to the excited hero-rambling voice of their first class only a few weeks ago. Instead, this is softer, more personal. Like Yamada-sensei is the hero he's looking at, not Present Mic.
Hizashi simply nods and smiles easily at Midoriya, daring a quick ruffle of his fingers through soft curls. "Glad to hear it," he says as genuinely as he can. "Just remember, I'm always here if you need someone to listen. Doesn't matter if you think it's 'silly'," and he does dramatic air quotes just to pull a smile from the teen, "or boring, or whatever. I'll always make time, alright?"
Midoriya giggles slightly, before looking shocked at the sound coming out of his own mouth. "Thank you, Yamada-sensei," Midoriya says, "I'll keep that in mind."
And that's that, Hizashi thinks as Midoriya scrambles off to lunch, half-tripping in his haste. He's let the kid know someone cares, that there's someone to listen, but Hizashi, at the end of the day, is only his English teacher. He only sees Midoriya twice a week, when the other teachers have him four or five times.
He doubts that if the kid does reach out to confide in someone, that it'll be him. Especially after the USJ, even Shouta is now a much-loved teacher; by Class 1-A at least.
But Hizashi is still satisfied with how the talk went. Midoriya knows now, that someone cares, enough to pull him aside after class and offer to listen. Sometimes, that's all it takes.
Which is why, months later and one week into the start of the second term, Hizashi is surprised when one of his 2-C students tells him that Midoriya is asking for him at the front door of the dorms. He mutters a quick thanks to Aika, and pats her purple hair gently as she turns away, humming happily beneath her breath. A bit absent-minded, but kind enough student, that one.
And then, Hizashi books it downstairs, while trying very hard not to make it look like he's doing so. Midoriya is barely off of house arrest - and Hizashi still has trouble believing his sweetest student got into a fight after hours - so it's odd that one of the things he's doing first is coming to see him.
Maybe he has a question about the upcoming English test?
Except, when Hizashi gets to the door, Midoriya is pale and won't meet his eyes, as he asks in a tiny voice, "are, are you still - I - I need to talk to someone and-"
"Of course," Hizashi says kindly, but when he steps back to let Midoriya into the 2-C dorm, the teen hesitates. "We can go to my office," Hizashi suggests and Midoriya relaxes instantly at the option.
The walk to the school campus proper is eerily quiet, considering Midoriya's usual muttering, but then, just as they reach the start of the hallway of private offices, Midoriya blurts out, "Your hair looks really pretty!" and then looks mortified at his own outburst.
Hizashi just grins brightly. "Aww, thanks Midoriya- kun," he says easily, reaching up to run his fingers over the four-strand braid. "You know," he says confidingly, "it was actually your homeroom teacher that did it."
Midoriya's eyes widen. "Really?" he breathes, and Hizashi has just managed to soothe away a bit more of the stress from the teen's face when Shouta himself steps out of his office right beside his own. Ah, he must've been in early for marking.
Except, as soon as Midoriya sees the man who's eyes are fixed on the top piece of paper of an impressive stack as he walks, he stiffens.
"Oh," Shouta says when he finally stops scowling at what must be one of the essays he assigned on the first day back like the sadist he is, "Mic, Midoriya- kun."
Distressingly, Hizashi sees Midoriya take the tiniest step behind him, a barely noticeable change to perhaps anyone that isn't a pro hero. Which means it's still obvious to both Hizashi and Shouta. Regret flashes briefly through Shouta's eyes, an expression he knows Midoriya will have missed because his gaze is now firmly on the floor as he mumbles out a soft, "Good morning, Aizawa-sensei."
"Is everything alright?" Shouta asks, eyes crinkling in concern as he looks at Midoriya.
Hizashi smiles broadly, waving away his husband's question. "Yeah, yeah, we're both fine! I'm just lending Midoriya here a book so he can practice his English! He's such a hard worker!"
It's a blatant lie, and he knows Shouta sees right through it, but he's also sensible enough to let it slide. "That's a good idea," he offers instead. "It's always smart to get ahead on studies."
Midoriya twitches but remains uncharacteristically silent. Shouta's eyes narrow but Hizashi shakes his head at the man in warning and he backs off with a single nod. "C'mon, Midoriya-kun," Hizashi says easily instead, cupping the teen's elbow to direct him into his office, using himself as a physical barrier between the two. "Let's find you that book, yeah?"
As soon as they're both inside, Hizashi closes the door gently but firmly behind him. "Hey, are you alright?"
"He got so angry," Midoriya whimpers, and then slaps his hands over his mouth. "Oh gods, I didn't mean to say that."
"Hey, hey, it's alright," Hizashi says gently, because yeah, Shouta can be scary as hell sometimes but -
"It's not alright," Midoriya protests, "I shouldn't have said that to you! Not when-"
"Not when what?" Hizashi prompts, and he carefully pushes the trembling teen onto the soft couch he keeps in his office for just these situations.
"Well...you're married, aren't you?" Midoriya tells his lap.
"We are," Hizashi confirms, and he crouches down in front of Midoriya. "But that doesn't change the fact that right now, you are my priority."
"But he's your husband."
"He is," Hizashi says, "but I am telling you right now that I am here as your teacher, not as Shouta's husband right now."
"Right," Midoriya mutters, and Hizashi carefully puts a hand on the teen's knee.
"Really," Hizashi says softly. "Midoriya-kun, can you please look at me?" Hesitantly, the kid looks up. Hizashi clicks his tongue gently and squeezes the kid's knee. "I'm not upset or mad at you," he says. "I promise."
Midoriya's eyes flick warily across Hizashi's face, and whatever he sees finally lets him relax slightly again. It's...progress.
"Are you still comfortable talking to me?" Hizashi asks, because he wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. But Midoriya's small hand shoots out and latches desperately onto Hizashi's own.
"I'm not going anywhere," Hizashi promises and then suddenly he has a sobbing teen in his arms which... isn't entirely unexpected, but still knocks him back on his ass as Midoriya pitches forward off the couch and into his chest.
"Hey, hey," Hizashi murmurs, one arm wrapping around the teen's waist, the other gently cradling the back of his head. "It's alright, you can let it out."
And let it out he does, as Midoriya chokes out his sordid tale, the horror story of his life until he got a quirk.
All Might's quirk.
And all this to explain how he feels so angry that he got punished for finally standing up to his childhood bully. And how that anger made him want to hurt someone.
So he hurt himself.
And then scared himself badly enough to remember
Hizashi's offer and actually take him up on it.
Hizashi has never been more thankful to his past self for talking to the kid than he is now; he doesn't want to imagine how Midoriya might have continued to self-destruct if he thought no one cared.
But Hizashi has no time right now to dwell on might- have-beens.
"Midoriya-kun," Hizashi murmurs as gently as he can once the kid has cried himself into another eerie silence. "Are you comfortable letting me check your injuries?"
All he gets is a weak nod, but it'll have to do. It takes more effort than Hizashi would like to admit to get Midoriya onto the couch - and now he knows why the kid is so desperate to put on muscle - but he manages it despite Midoriya being limp and lax and entirely unhelpful in the process.
That's fine, Hizashi doesn't mind taking over the hard things for a little while.
Once he has the kid back on the couch, he carefully rolls up Midoriya's right sleeve, and then sees the compression wrap the kid has to wear because of how many damn times he's broken his arm. "I'll have to remove this," Hizashi warns but Midoriya just nods silently.
He takes care then to slide the wrap down, revealing first the mottled scarring from his quirk, and then the fresh bandages on his lower arm, already with blood seeping through.
That's... not great, but Hizashi doesn't let his concern show, just keeps his hands clinical as he unwinds the bandages to reveal the deep, shaky cuts. He doubts Midoriya meant to go so deep, but using his non- dominant hand in combination with his chronic pain...
Hizashi's not really surprised that he scared himself badly enough to reach out. It just sucks that he hurt himself before doing so.
"Do you remember when you did these?" Hizashi asks gently.
"About midnight," Midoriya mumbles, eyes hazy.
"Okay," Hizashi hums. "I know what she said to you after the sports festival, but it's really important that we get Recovery Girl to check these," he says softly. "I will be there the whole time, and you will be treated. These are a bit beyond what I can treat myself."
Midoriya whimpers, and tries to pull his arm away protectively. "Hey, hey," Hizashi soothes. He hesitates then. "There is one other option," Hizashi says carefully. "Shouta has a lot of experience with injuries, and after he got his Bachelor's in teaching, he got a Master's in nursing. He could treat your injuries as well, if you'd prefer." He's hesitant to suggest it only because of Midoriya's reaction earlier to Shouta's presence.
Midoriya trembles quietly as Hizashi pulls out his own first aid kit from under the couch, and presses fresh bandages firmly against the teen's arm. He doesn't so much as twitch at what must be severe pain, which twists at something deep in Hizashi.
He's here to teach future heroes , not to raise child soldiers, something that Yagi seems to have forgotten.
"A-Aizawa-sensei won't be mad, will he?" Midoriya asks, voice tiny, and Hizashi's heart breaks.
"No," he says firmly. "And if he is, he'll sleep on the couch."
A moment of silence and Hizashi wonders if he shouldn't have joked about it when - Midoriya giggles, and something deep within Hizashi finally eases. "I'll text him now," Hizashi says, though he waits until Midoriya nods to do so.
It's literally less than thirty seconds later that there's a knock on the door and then Shouta is entering, slight panic on his face. He relaxes only when he sees both Hizashi and Midoriya unharmed and then scowls at his husband. He... maybe should have sent more than 'need ur help'.
As it is, Hizashi can see clearly when Shouta clocks Midoriya's hunched position, his face turned away from the door, and that Hizashi is pressing bandages to the teen's arm. He closes his eyes briefly as though pained, but when he opens them again, he shuts the door and steps carefully over to crouch beside Hizashi.
"Midoriya-kun," Shouta says, and Hizashi can hear him gentling his tone. "May I touch you?"
Midoriya doesn't move except to turn his face further away. "Yes," he murmurs dully.
Shouta's frown is carefully concealed near instantly at the lifeless sound of Midoriya's voice. But he takes the permission, and pushes Hizashi's hands aside to lift the bandages. He's silent for a long moment, dark eyes assessing.
"Timeline?"
"Midnight," Hizashi says quietly. "The old bandages soaked through, though I suspect the compression wrap helped keep the bleeding slow."
Shouta nods distractedly. "Butterfly stitches will work for most of these, although I'd prefer to stitch the one closest to your hand," he tells Midoriya who shrugs.
"Isn't it too late for stitches?"
"Normally, yes," Shouta says. "But that timeline is usually only in terms of preventing scarring. These will scar anyway."
"Oh."
"I'll be as gentle as I can," Shouta says, mouth pulling down in concern at Midoriya's flatness. "The kit has a local anaesthetic, but you'll still feel the thread, which can be unpleasant. Let me know if you need a -"
"It's fine," Midoriya interrupts. "I've had worse."
"That's not a reason to subject yourself to needless pain," Shouta says sternly and then winces as Hizashi elbows his sharply in the ribs. "I.. it's illogical to suffer when you don't need to," he tries again, gentler.
Midoriya just shrugs again, and Shouta looks pained. "If you'd rather Recovery Girl-"
"No," Midoriya snaps. "Sensei, please just-" he stops and his chest is heaving. "Please help me, Sensei."
Hizashi's hand is sure to be sore tomorrow, he thinks ruefully as Midoriya clutches at him. Shouta has already swiftly used the butterfly tape to close the six smaller wounds while the anaesthetic kicked in, and he's now carefully pulling Midoriya's skin closed with a tiny frown of concentration.
Not that Hizashi begrudges Midoriya whatever comfort he can give. Only when Shouta has finished the stitches, and is carefully tying off the thread does Midoriya finally look at his homeroom teacher again. He's wary, that much is clear, that his Sensei has just been waiting until his injuries were treated to lose his temper.
But instead, Shouta is impassive as he disinfects and then wraps Midoriya's arm in soft bandages. "I want you to let either myself or Hizashi check these daily," Shouta instructs, and he leans back on his heels. "Or- "
"Not Recovery Girl," Hizashi interjects and he gets a fleeting glance of relief from Midoriya. He eyes the kid. "Midoriya-kun," he starts carefully, "I'd like to explain the situation regarding Recovery Girl to Shouta; would that be alright with you?"
Midoriya's eyes flick nervously between Hizashi and Shouta, who is holding himself very still as the teen assesses him. "Not anything else?"
"No," Hizashi says although he hesitates and adds, "though perhaps I could also explain your side of events from the incident at Ground Beta. But that would be all. You can listen and stop me at any point."
With that Midoriya nods, although he still looks hesitant, and his grip on Hizashi's hand hasn't loosened any. It takes only a few minutes to explain both what Recovery Girl had told Midoriya, and the true nature of the relationship between the teen and Bakugou. Hizashi can see the self-reprimand in Shouta's eyes that he missed this, and allowed the torment of his student to continue. And from the way he twitches when Hizashi recounts the events of the final exam, it's clear neither All Might nor Recovery Girl saw fit to inform him of the broken jaw Bakugou had left him with.
"I see," Shouta says quietly once Hizashi finishes. His dark eyes are contemplative, and he's staring absently at where Midoriya is still holding tight to Hizashi's hand. "I'll deal with this," he tells the teen suddenly and Midoriya nods hesitantly. "I'm glad you reached out to someone. You did good."
Hizashi is almost as surprised as Shouta is when Midoriya releases his hand only to latch onto his homeroom teacher instead. Shouta is stiff at first, but then relents and hesitantly hugs the teen back, moving them both to sit on the couch as Midoriya trembles silently against him. Hizashi finally straightens up from his crouch and sits on the other side of Midoriya, careful to leave enough space to not make him feel boxed in.
And then, to Hizashi's amusement and Shouta's exasperation, Midoriya all but passes out after a few minutes of quiet sobbing, slumping entirely against Shouta's chest. Personally, Hizashi has been waiting for the kid to go down for the last hour, as he suspects the boy hasn't slept at all since the night before. Combined with the slow but steady blood loss, and the stress piling up on his young shoulders, this was all but inevitable. Shouta just sighs and rolls his eyes, before scowling at Hizashi.
"Are you going to help or not?"
Hizashi snickers, but he does get off the couch and help arrange Midoriya into a more comfortable position, carefully sliding him down until his head is pillowed on Shouta's lap. "Seriously?" Shouta asks, but Hizashi can tell he's keeping his voice low so as to avoid waking the teen.
"It'd be like waking a sleeping cat," Hizashi says teasingly, and gets a very satisfying unimpressed look from his husband. "If it really bothers you, we can swit-"
"No," Shouta snaps, and he rests a protective hand on Midoriya's head. "He's fine."
Yeah, that's what Hizashi thought. He smirks at his husband, and then tucks the throw from the back of the couch over the kid as well; he's likely cold given the blood loss.
"I'll remove the house-arrest from his record," Shouta tells Hizashi only once Midoriya's breathing has evened out entirely, and Hizashi has managed to still the rage-induced shaking of his own limbs. One of Shouta's hands is still tangled in Midoriya's hair, keeping a reassuring weight for the sleeping teen to press against, while his other is rubbing soothing circles on Hizashi's knee where he's perched on the arm of the couch. "Considering the circumstances, I now know it's not his fault." He sighs. "I don't know what to do about Bakugou, however."
Hizashi scowls furiously at the floor. "We can't expel him, unfortunately."
"Not with the League after him," Shouta confirms though he sounds pissed. "I'd believe his change in character more if he hadn't started that fight with Midoriya-kun."
"Agreed," Hizashi says, and it takes all his self-control to not hiss. "That brat owes everything to Midoriya- kun."
"At the very least I'll have him moved to 1-B," Shouta decides, although there's a fury in his eyes that belies his calm demeanour. "It's clearly detrimental to Midoriya-kun's health and development to have them in the same class."
"He'll need quirk suppressors," Hizashi adds. "Vlad can't exactly erase his quirk if he goes for someone."
Shouta nods tiredly. "Fuck, what a mess."
And he doesn't know the half of it, Hizashi thinks dryly. Shouta's eyes narrow. "There's more you're not telling me."
"There is," Hizashi agrees and doesn't elaborate despite the glare Shouta gives him. "And I'm not going to tell you, so stop looking at me like that. You'll find out if Midoriya wants you to know." As much as Hizashi thinks Shouta should know about One For All, and exactly how late Midoriya 'developed' his quirk, this isn't up to him.
Shouta looks hurt. "He doesn't trust me."
"...I wouldn't say that," Hizashi says dryly, looking pointedly at the teen fast asleep on his husband's lap, all but curled around him. "I think he trusts you more than anyone else. He's just scared of disappointing you."
"Right," Shouta mutters, and his eyes flick down to Midoriya. "That's... he's not a disappointment."
Hizashi shrugs. "I know that, you know that." He sighs. "You're actually going to have to use your words with this one, sweetheart. He won't believe you otherwise."
Shouta scowls at Hizashi again, before his expression cracks and softens as Midoriya snuffles in his sleep, pressing his face against Shouta's stomach. "If he didn't trust you, he'd never let himself relax like this around you," Hizashi adds and Shouta nods tiredly. "Anyway, you may as well take a nap until he wakes up."
Shouta frowns as Hizashi gets to his feet and stretches his arms above his head, cracking his fingers obnoxiously. "Where are you going?"
Hizashi smiles pleasantly. "Oh, there's just someone I need to have a chat with," he says and Shouta raises a single eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by that explanation.
Tough, that's the only explanation Hizashi is going to give him. "I'll try to be back before Midoriya-kun wakes," he adds helpfully, "but if I'm not, just shoot me a text." Hopefully, however, the kid will be out for a while. Hizashi is already mentally planning a very long, very thorough, and very loud talk with a few certain members of UA's staff. And not to toot his own horn, but so far it's sounding pretty good, with just the right amount of verbal evisceration to drive his points home.
Mm, yeah, it's gonna be a very good talk.